Chicago Cubs Recap: Jake Arrieta cruises through Rockies lineup to even series

Yesterday afternoon, the Chicago Cubs suffered their second loss of the young season behind four errors. They had some trouble fielding multiple bunts and the Rockies capitalized with runners on base. This time around, it was Jake Arrieta‘s turn to silence their lineup. And he did just that.

Veteran right-hander Jake Arrieta continued to dominate on the mound at Wrigley Field, extending his scoreless inning streak to 58 2/3 at home. Arrieta (3-0, 1.23 ERA) held the Rockies (6-5) to five hits while issuing one walk and recording eight strikeouts in the 6-2 win, evening this weekend series at one game apiece.

Skipper Joe Maddon allowed Jake to take his at-bat during the home half of the eighth inning but opted to roll with southpaw Travis Wood in the top of the ninth. The 30-year-old National League Cy Young winner ended the day with 100 pitches and 0-for-4 at the plate with two strikeouts of his own.

His offense, on the other hand, backed him up with six runs. First baseman Anthony Rizzo got things going in the fourth after both teams failed to tally a run over the first three innings of the ballgame. Rizzo drilled the first pitch of the at-bat and sent over the head of right-fielder Carlos Gonzalez for his third big fly of the season.

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While Rizzo was high-fiving his teammates in the dugout, left-fielder Jorge Soler turned on the first pitch of his at-bat, sending it out to left-center field, making it a two-run game. It’s been awhile since the Cubs have gone back-to-back but it was great to see these two men rounding the bases Saturday afternoon.

Rizzo found himself in a bit of a slump and Soler is looking to fill the gap out in left field. In case you forgot, Kyle Schwarber is out for the remainder of the season after suffering a serious knee injury, opening the door for Soler and Matt Szczur to pick up more playing time.

We’ll skip to the bottom half of the seventh inning with Matt Szczur and veteran catcher David Ross on base. Leadoff man Dexter Fowler is off to a great start but his only hit of the contest was a big one. Fowler joined Rizzo and Soler by swatting his second home run of the campaign out to deep right field, giving the Cubs (9-2) a five-run lead.

Next: Eyes on young stars in weekend series vs Rox

Infielder Javier Baez, who was activated from the 15-day disabled list yesterday, made his 2016 debut. Baez finished the afternoon 2-for-4 at the plate, beating out a ground ball fielded by Nolan Arenado for an infield single and doubled late in the game.

Wood gave up a two-run homer to Gonzalez in the ninth, making way for Pedro Strop to slam the door on the Rox.

The next time we’ll see the Chicago Cubs on television, southpaw Jon Lester will be on the mound. Lester (1-0, 2.77 ERA) surrendered three earned runs on five hits in six innings of work in his previous start last Monday in the series opener against the Cincinnati Reds.